It's really just a bird-watching festival. The Salton Sea is a large lake in the middle of the southern California desert. I don't think I'd want to go in the summer, but in the winter it's not too hot and there are a lot of birds!

You don't need luck, Alp--you're ready to start preparing for the TOEFL.

Not at all true, Logan! The Salton Sea's problem is not pollution. It's hypersalinity. Also there is sometimes an algae problem: when the algae proliferate, it is followed by a death phase. The latter gives off a bad smell, but it's not always as smelly as people say. Also the algae bloom takes O2 from the water which is rough on the fish, so many die if the bloom is big enough. Very sad watching the poor tilapia up at the surface like koi fish futily trying to take in atmospheric O2. There is far less pollution in the Salton Sea than along the CA coastline, and virtually no e coli. I personally wouldn't swim in it though because the color is usually murky (which in itself is not evidence of pollution)as I like clarity where I swim. However I was knocked off a kayak last year in the Salton Sea and have yet to grow a third arm or have anything bad happen as a result of that. I know of some seniors who wade, even swim, in it claiming the salts do wonders for their aches and pains. I a university scientist specializing in inland waters told me he and his grad students take a dip in it after a day's research.It's a fantastic bird viewing location! I once when to the SS Bird Fest (held Februarys) and there were people present from all around the US, even Mexico and once from Russia. But study up before you go so you know what to see and where exactly. The Salton Sea is huge.

It's not for everybody. Very remote, rugged, some residents in poverty, and many neglected buildings.

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The work of pollinators (such as bees, butterflies, and humming birds) ensures full harvests of many agricultural crops and contributes to healthy plants everywhere...As landscapes are converted from wild to managed lands, many pollinators’ habitats may be destroyed or fragmented. More than half of the food we eat depends on bees and other animals for pollination. Most of the fruit and vegetable producing plants we rely on need honeybee pollination to thrive--which is why the disappearance of honeybees known as Colony Collapse Disorder is a critical environmental issue. To learn more about research for Colony Collapse Disorder, visit Pollinator Partnership.